Home team in capital letters; point spreads (opening line) in parentheses after underdog team; selections with point spreads in [B]bold{/B].

SUNDAY

N.Y. Giants 30, ST. LOUIS 14 (+9) - Wonder how Scott Linehan feels about giving Steven Jackson the whole month of August off now? Price is steep but Giants have covered nine of ten indoors since 2002.

N.Y. JETS 17, New England 13 (+1) - Jet defensive coordinator Bob Sutton faces a delightfully delicious dilemma this week: Does he plan on shoving eight in the box to stop Laurence Maroney and make Matt Cassel beat him, or does he even bother showing Maroney that kind of respect?

New Orleans 27 (+1), WASHINGTON 14 - The Colt Brennan chants have already started on the banks of the Potomac and the home team herein has dropped five straight. Works for me.

CAROLINA 23, Chicago 16 (+3 1/2) - The Week 1 wins by both these teams may have spoken volumes about how the balance of power between the two conferences is shifting - two AFC teams expected to contend losing, at home, to two NFC teams not expected to do so. Carolina's huge edge at the quarterback position seems to overshadow all else in this one.

JACKSONVILLE 20, Buffalo 10 (+6) - The Jags lost half their starting offensive line as well as the game in Tennessee last Sunday, but comparing even David Garrard to Trent Edwards is like comparing the Concorde to a Douglas DC-3, which went "from frost to flowers (New York to Florida) in 14 hours," according to a popular Depression-era radio commercial.

Oakland 16 (+4), KANSAS CITY 13 - Damon Huard instead of Brodie Croyle at quarterback for the Chiefs likely makes no difference one way or the other, so look for a recurrence of the same thing that always goes down whenever these two teams meet: The home team doesn't cover the spread. It's happened ten consecutive times.

CINCINNATI 20, Tennessee 14 (+1) - If the Bengals can't beat Kerry Collins at home, they might as well print up Marvin Lewis' pink slip right there and then.

Green Bay 31, DETROIT 17 (+3) - A bit hesitant to climb aboard the Aaron Rodgers bandwagon just yet, as he debuted against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL; but truth be told, Detroit's is no better than Minnesota's and Green Bay does bring streaks of six in a row against the line in domes and five over the Lions straight up to the table.

MINNESOTA 28 (+2), Indianapolis 24 - Like Scott Linehan with Steven Jackson, Tony Dungy went overboard in scratching Peyton Manning for the entire preseason - and the visiting team hasn't won in this series since all the way back in 1966 (0-10-1 straight up, the last nine in a row). And if Matt Forte could run all over the Colts' defense, what will Adrian Peterson do against it?

Atlanta 20 (+8 1/2), TAMPA BAY 17 - And I didn't even need to know that the Falcons are 8-1 against the spread on grass the last two years to make this pick, or the fact that Jeff Garcia isn't playing - either due to a sprained ankle, a sore hamstring or a common, garden-variety benching, depending on who you talk to.

San Diego 27, DENVER 6 (+1) - Rolling over the Raiders in the season opener (especially considering Oakland's recent performance in those) doesn't mean that the Broncos are back on the right track; and they've been outscored 147-53 in their last four against the Chargers - all losses, both ways.

ARIZONA 24, Miami 10 (+7) - Arizona actually didn't look half bad in San Francisco, while the Dolphins have lost ten straight on the road - and it will be a long time before the Cardinals get tired of beating Miami, finally doing so in the last meeting after eight losses in eight games to start the lifetime series.

SEATTLE 16, San Francisco 3 (+9 1/2) - Who needs receivers (unless you're Donovan McNabb) when your defense isn't going to give up a touchdown? At least the Seahawks didn't in either of their games last year against the 49ers, whose offense has gotten appreciably worse since.

Pittsburgh 23, CLEVELAND 14 (+5 1/2) - Arguably, no value here, with the Steelers being this much of a road favorite over a team that finished with the same record as them last year; but it's also a team Pittsburgh has beaten nine straight times, with seven of them being by more than this number.

MONDAY NIGHT

HOUSTON 21, Baltimore 14 (+4 1/2) - Nice first NFL start for Joe Flacco, but let's see what he does on the road - and at what could very well be a noisy indoor venue, as the rain associated with Hurricane Ike could close the retractable roof at Reliant Stadium. Baltimore has also non-covered six in a row as a visitor on the grass.

Philadelphia 31 (+7), DALLAS 28 - In case you missed it, Rashad Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell in the UFC's main event last Saturday night. By around midnight Monday, the members of the Dallas secondary are going to wish Evans had floored DeSean Jackson instead.